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Topic: Tips on Donating Blood (Read 21176 times)

Resurrecting in case anyone has low blood pressure. It's not uncommon for me to have a BP reading of 90/60...I've registered 85/58 once when I went to donate blood. The technician asked if I was a runner. I wasn't (I'm still not! )...I just have low blood pressure (thanks Mom!). She rechecked my BP and apparently the anxiety of not being able to donate raised my BP into the acceptable range!

So, if you're like me, enjoy some salty food before you donate. Bacon works wonders! Raised mine to 100/70 last Sunday.

1. Fear of needles? Ooked out by the sight of blood?It helps to not look at the needles, the bags, or anything else related to the process, at least the first few times through. I discovered that really helped me when I was new to the process! It does get easier -- my first donation was at age 17, and I'm now 36. Aside from pregnancy and bouts of the flu or whatnot, I've been a regular donor since, and the needles and all stopped bothering me in fairly short order. I just kept eye contact with people whenever possible, and whenever not possible, I kept my eyes closed.

2. Worries about Mother Nature and donating?a generally healthy person will not be aversely affected by the coincidence of events. You might be a little woozier afterwards, or need a nap and an extra snack than what you've planned on, so keep an eye on how you feel. In either event, you need more fluids, more rest, and good attention to nutrition, anyway, so with both happening at once, just be extra attentive to being healthy. They won't let you donate if your iron is low, or if other conditions are in place that WOULD hurt you, so please be at ease there.

3. Some hints about good iron levels. Vitamin C does help blood iron levels. Eating a little more than the recommended 3-5 daily fruits/veg is good in many ways, for many people's health (talk to your doctor first, esp. with blood sugar and other issues), and will help improve iron levels. Make sure that you get a good diversity of fruits and vegetables, too! Also, if you're not vegetarian/vegan/pescatarian, super-lean red meat is recommended. Many grocers sell 90% lean beef, and some will also have 93% lean. Whole grains and beans are also recommended to help balance things out. Of course, it won't hurt to eat chicken, fish, eggs, turkey, etc., either.

Another tip about needle fear. My first time, I asked if I could watch another donor getting the needle put in. The guy on the table next to mine was an old hand at donating, and he said I could watch him. I found that seeing the process, and that the other donor was fine with it, made me a lot calmer about the needles.

If it is your first time, PLEASE make sure someone goes with you. Actually, my first time went OK (except for getting desperately ill later that night; I don't remember a show I was really excited about, thought I was going to die, and had to call to get the blood tossed). My second time, however, did not go well at all. You know it's bad when the volunteers say, "If you decide to do this again, and we suggest you don't...." Yeah. So if you aren't sure how you are going to do, take someone with you who can drive you home afterward.

Hey everyone, HeebyJeebyLeebee posted this in the Blood Donation thread. Any tips we can give her on getting people involved at her office?

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Office Blood Drive is Friday morning. I'm scheduled to donate at 11:30, but I'll be helping out all morning too. Turn out's low right now, so I'm a bit worried.

I've been playing up 1) how convenient it is to donate at work, 2) how easy it is to save 3 lives with 1 donation of whole blood, 3) how much blood our medical center typically uses in 1 week, and 4) that sickle cell anemia is commonly treated with transfusions.

I'm hoping that #4 will move someone to donate. Many of our employees and most of our clients are African American, and sickle cell anemia is most common in African Americans. One of my Sweet Pattootie's employees has a child with SCA. Unfortunately, because both parents carry the SCA trait (though don't have it themselves), they're not suitable blood donors for their daughter. So it's really important that people without SCA in their family history donate blood.

Enlisting the office bakers to make treats for the donors? Beyond what they get at the clinic.

Set up a friendly competition between departments for the highest percentage of donors, with some sort of homemade cheesy trophy for the winning department. Or a prize of the aforementioned baked goods.

My old workplace had a clinic that ran a competition between EMS and fire, local police, provincial police and federal police, with bragging rights as the main prize.

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After cleaning out my Dad's house, I have this advice: If you haven't used it in a year, throw it out!!!!.

Are departments range in size from 3 people to nearly 300 people, so a percentage competition might not work. However, I may suggest a competition between the 4 floors (by percentage) for a future drive.

I'm trying to get HR to send out more emails. They're not the most resposive department.

Since turnout's a big problem, I doubt we'd get much help asking for bakers. Plus the Blood Center provides cookies and juice. We've never had anything like a bake sale, pot luck, or blood drive.

We do have a pretty Blood Center blanket that will be a door prize. I think that got some more sign ups. We know have 21 signed up, 11 slots available. The goal is 26 units. I'm hoping we have some walk-ups.

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I am grateful for the friends I have made on EHell and everything I have learned, but it is time I move on.

Set up a friendly competition between departments for the highest percentage of donors, with some sort of homemade cheesy trophy for the winning department. Or a prize of the aforementioned baked goods.

Please don't do that. This is really bad for people who would like to donate but can't for whatever reason. It will make them feel bad that they can't contribute and worst case they will get bullied if they don't donate.

My employer has regular blood drives. I would love to participate. Unfortunately I have lived in Europe for too long (yes, I know, the CDC relaxed their rules and allows me to donate, however our blood drive is run by the Red Cross which still uses the more strict rules).

Set up a friendly competition between departments for the highest percentage of donors, with some sort of homemade cheesy trophy for the winning department. Or a prize of the aforementioned baked goods.

Please don't do that. This is really bad for people who would like to donate but can't for whatever reason. It will make them feel bad that they can't contribute and worst case they will get bullied if they don't donate.

My employer has regular blood drives. I would love to participate. Unfortunately I have lived in Europe for too long (yes, I know, the CDC relaxed their rules and allows me to donate, however our blood drive is run by the Red Cross which still uses the more strict rules).

Is there, maybe, a way to modify it? Maybe allow volunteering at the drive count as well as actually donating? Or, agreeing to pass out flyers? Or something like that?

Just brainstorming some ideas. Not sure if that would work. But, I do see your point, QueenfaninCA. You're right that the competition with just donors probably wouldn't work well.

Set up a friendly competition between departments for the highest percentage of donors, with some sort of homemade cheesy trophy for the winning department. Or a prize of the aforementioned baked goods.

Please don't do that. This is really bad for people who would like to donate but can't for whatever reason. It will make them feel bad that they can't contribute and worst case they will get bullied if they don't donate.

My employer has regular blood drives. I would love to participate. Unfortunately I have lived in Europe for too long (yes, I know, the CDC relaxed their rules and allows me to donate, however our blood drive is run by the Red Cross which still uses the more strict rules).

Is there, maybe, a way to modify it? Maybe allow volunteering at the drive count as well as actually donating? Or, agreeing to pass out flyers? Or something like that?

Just brainstorming some ideas. Not sure if that would work. But, I do see your point, QueenfaninCA. You're right that the competition with just donors probably wouldn't work well.

I don't think it is a good idea to have a competition for which department/floor/group can donate the most whatever is a good idea. Some people don't want to be involved for whatever reason and they shouldn't be punished for that or be bullied by other people into volunteering.

Set up a friendly competition between departments for the highest percentage of donors, with some sort of homemade cheesy trophy for the winning department. Or a prize of the aforementioned baked goods.

Please don't do that. This is really bad for people who would like to donate but can't for whatever reason. It will make them feel bad that they can't contribute and worst case they will get bullied if they don't donate.

My employer has regular blood drives. I would love to participate. Unfortunately I have lived in Europe for too long (yes, I know, the CDC relaxed their rules and allows me to donate, however our blood drive is run by the Red Cross which still uses the more strict rules).

I appreciate you saying that. I always feel so bad when I see these emails and cannot participate. Last quarter they did try to make it into a competition and I had people hounding me about when was I donating, and when i told them I wasn't, of course they wanted to know why, often answering "for medical reasons" did not satisfy their curiousness, and I got all sorts of personal questions . I resented being put in the position that I had to tell random coworkers that I had a health reason not to donate, but otherwise I was given all kinds of heck for not donating.